Households’ Risk Mitigation Activities and Risk Perception Bias: Earthquake Insurance Purchase and Seismic Retrofitting

2019 ◽  
pp. 251-272
Author(s):  
Miki Seko
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Seismic Retrofitting ◽  
Earthquake Insurance ◽  
Perception Bias

Factors affecting awareness of preparedness after moderate earthquakes

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Won Moon ◽  
Ha Hwang ◽  
Ji-Bum Chung
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Seismic Retrofitting ◽  
Earthquake Insurance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Moderate Earthquake ◽  
Nationally Representative

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how experiencing moderate earthquakes influences risk perception and preparedness. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted on a nationally representative sample of Korean adults after the moderate earthquake in Pohang in 2017. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for seismic retrofitting and earthquake insurance. Findings The results show that risk perception, housing ownership, earthquake experience and income level significantly influenced WTP for seismic retrofitting and earthquake insurance. The results also indicate that a greater number of damage-free earthquake experiences reduced the WTP that could be explained by normalcy bias. Finally, people who believed that the Pohang earthquake might be an example of induced seismicity (i.e. triggered by the geothermal power plant) tended to have a lower WTP for seismic retrofitting. Originality/value This study offers valuable findings on public attitudes about enhancing earthquake preparedness policies in moderate earthquake zones, regions that few studies have examined despite their high vulnerability due to a lack of preparedness.

Evaluating the cost and benefits of earthquake protection of buildings

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetto Manganelli ◽  
Marco Vona ◽  
Pierfrancesco De Paola
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Tax Incentives ◽  
Seismic Retrofitting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Seismic Risk Mitigation ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Earthquake Protection ◽  
Real Estate Assets

Purpose The purpose of this study is the evaluation of the cost and benefits of earthquake protection of buildings to verify whether the legislative push, through tax incentives, will produce results and lead to a redevelopment of private real estate assets. Design/methodology/approach Through contingent valuation, this research aims to measure the propensity of homeowners to invest in the seismic security of their properties. The sample of homeowners was selected in a southern Italy city, which was characterized by a medium-high seismic hazard. The willingness to pay, once made independent from the family income, was compared with the actual cost of a seismic retrofitting technique to assess its cost-effectiveness. Findings The analysis developed on an example case shows that the economic sustainability of the intervention is only verified when considering the current tax incentives for this type of intervention. Practical implications Choosing to introduce a system to compulsory insurance against seismic risk could certainly be a strong incentive for the implementation of retrofitting interventions on private real estate assets. In this direction, investigations like this can be fundamental to establish the fair risk premium. Originality/value The need for effective seismic risk mitigation policies is also based on the growing awareness of the, often fatal, effects of seismic events, emphasized by the recent medium and high intensity events that hit Italy. The issue of the security of residential buildings is therefore a very topical issue in view of their high seismic vulnerability and the vast number of buildings requiring major seismic retrofitting. Therefore, the propensity of owners to intervene in improving the seismic performance of their properties can be crucial in seismic risk mitigation.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Disaster Management E-Learning Webs in Turkey

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 53-60
Author(s):  
Kubilay KAPTAN ◽  
Onur YILMAZ
Keyword(s):  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Earthquake Insurance ◽  
Insurance Supervision ◽  
Successful Solution ◽  
The Social ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Disaster Education ◽  
Education In Turkey ◽  
Technical Organizations

It is emphasized that Turkey experiences frequent earthquakes, causing extensive losses to economy, life and limb. In order to mitigate the losses due earthquakes, a number of issues are identified to be studied and managed properly on a national scale. Firstly, the importance of education and research about earthquakes and earthquake preparedness, from cradle to grave, is stressed. Secondly, for a successful solution of the risk mitigation problems, the legislative and financial structures as well as the social and technical organizations are presented. Recommendations are given, concerning the disasters management, dealing with emergency matters during and after the earthquake, and also the risk management, dealing with preparations before the earthquake. Finally, the problems related to inventory of buildings, repair and retrofitting issues, earthquake insurance, supervision of design and construction of buildings are discussed. E-learning is a new project for education based on the adoption of new computerised, multimedia and telematic technologies. Its application has deeply changed the concept of a teacher-based teaching to a student-centred educational project. It offers a great flexibility in the educational methodology, in the administration of contents, in the synchronous and/or asynchronous interaction between teachers and students, in the organisation and in the structure of the course, in the educational plans, in the support, the tracking and the evaluation of the student. E-learning could represent a great resource and a possible revolution in the concept of education and in the field of disaster education as well. In Turkey, there are some important websites concerning disaster education. These websites are reviewed to evaluate if these sites provide good e-learning environments. The official websites concerning disaster education in Turkey are scorched and the websites are reviewed according to the established protocol. Each website has been evaluated by two independent reviewers. The average scores were obtained by averaging the two scores. Of the available 6 websites, the total scores of these 6 websites varied from 42 points to 28 points (average 34+12 points). In conclusion, this report demonstrated that the e-learning of disaster education was still primitive in Turkey. It should be the first priority to implement a well-established e-learning environment to provide good disaster education.

scholarly journals Factors predicting citizens’ risk tolerance regarding earthquakes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Liv Henrich
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Risk Characteristics ◽  
Tolerance Study ◽  
Measures Of Risk ◽  
The Government ◽  
Different Levels

<p>People tolerate different levels of risk from different hazards in their day-to-day life. Perceptions of risks and the amount of risk mitigation people desire for different hazards vary. Previous research shows that the psychometric properties of different hazards predict the level of risk people tolerate for various hazards, but not for earthquakes. Risk tolerance is likely to also be affected by factors other than the psychometric properties of hazards. This research tested how earthquakes score on psychometric risk properties compared to five other hazards, and aimed to replicate previous research on the risk factors predicting risk tolerance. Secondly, the research aimed to test if other factors, namely framing effects, risk perception and fatalistic thinking predict risk tolerance for earthquakes. In Study 1, participants from Wellington, New Zealand (N = 139) rated six different hazards (nuclear power, smoking, alcohol, driving, flying and earthquakes) on several risk characteristics and measures of risk tolerance. The results showed that the different hazards were perceived differently in terms of risk tolerance and that participants thought different risk mitigation actions were appropriate for the six hazards. Factor analysis showed that factors derived from risk characteristics did not predict risk tolerance. Study 2 (N = 173) assessed the effects of framing messages, risk perception and fatalism on risk tolerance (judgments about the firmness of the legislation; willingness to pay tax) and judgments about who should pay. The frames had an effect on participants’ concern about the risk, but did not affect the other measures. Generally participants thought that the Government should pay for strengthening buildings, however, those participants who perceived damage as preventable (fatalism measure) thought that private owners should pay for strengthening.</p>

Public Risk Perception Towards Power Generation by Municipal Waste Incineration

2020 ◽  
pp. 87-104
Author(s):  
Rui Zhao ◽  
Yuxin Huang ◽  
Yuyu Zhou ◽  
Meng Yang ◽  
Xinyue Liu
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Waste Incineration ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Fuzzy Decision Making ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
Municipal Waste Incineration

Power generation by municipal waste incineration provides a template not only for waste reduction but also for energy recovery. However, incineration plants face considerably strong protests from local communities. In such context, this study investigates the public's risk perception towards an operating incineration plant by using a word-frequency-based decision making approach to provide insight into risk mitigation while enhancing public acceptance. An operating municipal waste plant located at Chengdu, Sichuan Province was used as a case study to examine the risk perception posed by the host communities. Face-to-face interviews through a structured questionnaire were applied to data collection. A word frequency analysis was used to identify the key factors that influence public's risk perception and construct a multi-attributive decision matrix for the risk assessment. Entropy-based fuzzy decision making was implemented to discriminate the risk semi-quantitatively. To alleviate possible conflicts, policy implications were given.

scholarly journals EARTHQUAKE RISK MITIGATION: THE IMPACT OF SEISMIC RETROFITTING STRATEGIES ON URBAN RESILIENCE

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Miguel FERREIRA ◽  
Rui MAIO
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Seismic Retrofitting ◽  
Structural Safety ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Earthquake Risk ◽  
Masonry Building ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
The Impact

It is recognized that both community and urban resilience depends on the capacity of built environment to maintain acceptable structural safety levels during and after unforeseeable events, such as earthquakes, as well as to recover their original functionality. Investing in disaster risk mitigation policies is a great step towards promoting urban resilience and community preparedness, implicitly limiting damage to the built environment and subsequently reducing human, economic and environmental losses. Portugal is a moderate to high seismic prone area as the latest estimates indicate that within the next 50 years the country could be severely hit by a strong quake similar to the histori­cal 1755 event, which left a trail of destruction and death, mainly in densely populated areas, such as Lisbon. This manuscript aims to mitigate the impact of earthquake damage scenarios on social and economical terms, as well as evaluating the outcome of implementing traditional retrofitting strategies to existing masonry building stock located in urban areas of high seismic risk, using the old city centre of Horta, Faial island (Azores, Portugal), as a case study.

scholarly journals California earthquake insurance unpopularity: the issue is the price, not the risk perception

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Pothon ◽  
Philippe Gueguen ◽  
Sylvain Buisine ◽  
Pierre-Yves Bard
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Insurance Premium ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Risk Awareness ◽  
Earthquake Insurance ◽  
New Model ◽  
Earthquake Losses ◽  
Widespread Belief ◽  
Gathering Data ◽  
Annual Premium

Abstract. Despite California is a highly seismic prone region, most of homeowners are not covered against this risk. This study analyses the reasons for homeowners to purchase or not an insurance to cover earthquake losses, with application in California. A dedicated database is built from 18 different data sources about earthquake insurance, gathering data since 1921. A new model is developed to assess the take-up rate based on the homeowners’ risk awareness and the average annual insurance premium amount. Results suggest that only two extreme situations would lead all owners to cover their home with insurance: (1) a widespread belief that a devastating earthquake is imminent, or alternatively, (2) a massive decrease in the average annual premium amount by a factor exceeding 6 (from $980 to $160, USD 2015). Considering the low likelihood of each situation, we conclude from this study that new insurance solutions are necessary to fill the protection gap.

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